Wow

I just returned from the Portland Museum of Art’s current exhibit “Woven” …

A must see!

I especially appreciated the video of the artist’s process, from selecting the tree to processing the elements, to the shaping and assembling of a complete basket.

“As the first-ever major retrospective of a Wabanaki artist in a fine art museum in the United States, Jeremy Frey: Woven is a groundbreaking exhibition in contemporary and Indigenous art. Featuring more than 50 baskets, made from natural materials like black ash and sweetgrass, Woven presents a comprehensive collection that spans a career of more than two decades. These works are intricate, mesmerizing, and expressive, emphasizing Frey’s prodigious skill and prolific creative output that honors and transforms one of the oldest art forms in the northeast.  

Frey, a seventh-generation Passamaquoddy basket maker and one of the most celebrated Indigenous weavers in the country, learned traditional Wabanaki weaving techniques from his mother and apprenticeships through the Maine Indian Basketmakers Alliance.” [Excerpted from the PMA’s website]

I am inspired by Jeremy Frey’s artistry to do more weaving of my own. I enjoy taking packaging destined for the trash and finding new life for it as a weaving. Here are a couple of examples…

Materials used: coffee bags, newspaper bags, recycled silk yarn, old doily, staples, thread.

I find the process of weaving to be relaxing and very satisfying. I can see my progress and experiment with different combinations. Sometimes I am delighted by what is shown and what is hidden, how new meaning is made from combining packaging. Sometimes, as in the pieces below, I highlight a specific word or words:

What inspires you? Let’s connect! I’d love to hear about your creative process, and how I may serve you on your creative path.